Montezuma County is red enclave in blue state

Colorado went blue in a big way Tuesday night, but Montezuma County and the state’s southwest corner remained staunchly red.
In Tuesday’s election, Montezuma County kept its county commission all-Republican, choosing Jim Candelaria over Democrat M.B. McAfee and two unaffiliated candidates. Republicans Don Coram and Marc Caitlin easily retained their seats in the state Senate (District 6) and state House (District 58), respectively.
And Third Congressional District Rep. Scott Tipton of Cortez sailed to re-election over Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush by a margin of 52 to 43 percent.
But it was a different story statewide, where Democrats captured all the highest offices (governor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer), flipped the state Senate blue while retaining control of the state House, and picked up one congressional representative, in District 6, where Jason Crow unseated Republican incumbent Mike Coffman on a 53-44 margin.
Coloradoans had to vote on a slew of ballot questions, but only a few of those passed.
The state’s voters rejected two different measures to increase funding for roads, propositions 109 and 110. They said no to a tax increase for schools (Amendment 73). And they said no to two measures affecting the oil and gas industry, but in opposite ways. Amendment 74 was supported by the industry; it would have given landowners compensation for any regulations that might have hindered the development of property. It was rejected, along with Proposition 112, which was opposed by the energy industry because it would have greatly increased the minimum distance drilling operations had to be from homes, schools, and waterways.
Voters passed two minor measures, constitutional amendments A and W, that removed language about slavery from the state constitution and that condensed the way that judicial retention questions are listed on the ballot.
They agreed to let the state legislature define industrial hemp (Amendment X) rather than having it be defined in the constitution. They passed amendments Y and Z, creating nonpartisan commissions to draw up voting districts. And they supported Proposition 111, tightening the rules on payday lenders.
But they said no to lowering the age for state legislators (Amendment V) and to trying to even the playing field between wealthy and less-wealthy political candidates (Amendment 75).
Montezuma County voters, however, bucked the trend on one of those questions, voting strongly in favor of Amendment 74, the “takings” amendment, which failed statewide.